Her Inner Strength
by inu'sbb
Summary: Goku's daughter Rowan has the fate of the world put in her hands when her father pits her against Cell. The fight doesn't go exactly as planned and she has to deal with the consequences of her actions. Will she be able to pull herself back together? Or will the son of a world famous martial artist be able to help pick up the pieces?


"I give up! I'm not stronger than you so I see no point in continuing this fight. I can't beat you!"

My head was reeling as the words of my father registered in my brain. But why? He is the strongest fighter on this planet! How can he be beaten by the likes of Cell? I stared down at him in sheer and utter confusion and grasped at the cape that flowed delicately over my shoulders. What is he thinking?

Cell blinked in confusion as chewed over my father's words. "Pretty pathetic, Goku! Fine, I understand that you can't beat me but I hope you understand the consequences of your actions. If there is no one left to defeat me then I will reduce this miserable planet you call home to rubble!"

"Not so fast, Cell! I may be giving up but that doesn't mean the tournament is over. There is still one last person you need to fight." My father's words rung throughout the space as we all looked at each other and wracked our brains to figure out what he was planning.

Cell was also at a loss as he looked around and took us all in as if he were sizing us up. "You can't be serious! And which one of these creatures do you plan on having fight me? Vegeta? Piccolo? Trunks? Please don't waste my time!"

My father donned that cocky grin on his face and I knew he had a plan of some sorts…but what was it? "So you don't mind if I pick who gets to fight next do you?"

Cell hissed through his teeth as my father's proposition angered him. "You actually intend to go through with this?"

Goku placed his hands on his hips and took a step back to better look at his foe who still floated in the air. "I know this sounds crazy but you'll understand soon enough. The person I'm about to pick is a lot stronger than I am. So if you've enjoyed your fight with me then you're going to enjoy this next match even more." Cell looked about ready to explode but my father's next statement caught him off guard. "Of course you probably won't feel that way after you've been beaten!"

Cell outraged at the insult clenched his fist and released a burst of power as if to assert his dominance on the battlefield. "What did you say!?"

I could hear my father chuckle under his breath, he usually got like this when he knew the enemy had no chance of winning anymore. Who is he so confident in? My glance drifted over to Vegeta and Trunks for they too trained in the hyperbolic time chamber. Perhaps my father had concocted some sort of plan between the three of them, but they too seemed just as clueless as the rest of us. My gaze landed back on my father as he lifted an accusatory finger and pointed it in Cell's direction.

"I said you won't be feeling that way after you've been beaten!" his smirk remained as he lowered his arm back by his side and observed Cell's ferocity increase.

I could see Cell's face deadpan at my father's statement and he straightened himself. "A bold statement. You seem to have a lot of confidence in this mystery fighter of yours." My father grinned and shook his head in affirmation. I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach and my fingers began to shake between the fabric of the cape I had clutched between them. "Well I certainly hope that your confidence hasn't been misplaced. Now where is he? Where is your mystery champion?"

"Oh they're here," my father nodded in our direction. "They just don't know it yet!"

"You're trying my patience, Goku! Say the name!" Cell's fists clenched and unclenched and I could tell he was fighting the urge to strike my father down.

My father ignored his outburst and turned to face the plateau we all stood upon. "Alright, I will," there was a long pause that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "Alright guys, I'm afraid that I can't win this fight. I need someone to take over," my father locked eyes with me and gave me a small but confident smile. "And that someone is you, Rowan."

My heart stopped and it felt as if it had dropped into the pit of my stomach. It was almost as if I had been punched in the gut and I stumbled a couple steps backwards. The world around me was spinning as the cries of utter confusion and outrage from my friends and companions flowed over me. I was brought back to reality when I felt a firm and trembling hand rest on my shoulder, and looked up to see Piccolo shaking in rage.

"Goku!" his voice was dark and laced with venom, never before had I heard him address my father in such a way. "What on earth are you thinking? You can't have her fight Cell! There is no way she'd win!"

My father flew up to where we were all standing and stood a couple feet away from me smiling that smile of his at me. "Can you do it, Rowan?"

My voice was small and it cracked as I spoke. "M-me…fight Cell?" My body was like Jell-O and the only thing keeping me standing was Piccolo's firm grasp on my shoulder.

"Disappointing! He promises me a challenge but he gives me nothing but a child…a female child!" Cell glared down at me and we locked eyes.

I could feel a whimper start to escape my throat but Piccolo shielded me from his gaze by standing in between us. "No Goku! I will not allow it! You know what will happen if you let her fight Cell! If Rowan fights Cell she'll die!" My body jolted at the word "die" and tears filled the brims of my eyes as my gaze fell to the floor. My father started to walk towards me but he stepped in between the two of us.

"Piccolo listen…Rowan has a power hidden inside her that you or I couldn't even possibly begin to imagine. Just think about it. Don't you realize that she's been keeping up with us ever since she was just a little girl?" I could feel all eyes on me as they realized what Goku had said what was the truth, but I couldn't bring myself to look at them. The tears kept building and my fear kept growing, I wanted to run but my feet felt as though they were nailed to the ground. "I can remember back when I was her age I wasn't nearly as strong as she is."

Krillin fidgeted with his hands as he stepped forward to address his opinion. "Hey, listen Goku…we all know that Rowan is strong for her age...but fighting Cell?" he tried to formulate more words but he was at as much of a loss as we were.

Goku shook his head as if disappointed by his friends' lack of belief. "You guys are just going to have to trust me. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't know Rowan could win."

I could feel the weight of everyone's stares of judgement and concern and it was getting harder to breath. _I can't…I can't do this! I can't fight Cell! He'll kill me!_ I could feel my sanity breaking and a sob fighting to come out, but my father standing over me shook me back to reality.

"Look at me, Ro." My head snapped up and the tears began to stream down my face and my breathing was fast and labored. He knelt down in front of me and smiled gently at me as he wiped my tears away with his thumbs. "Tell me something, when Cell and I were fighting back there did you have any trouble keeping up at all? I mean, were we ever too fast for you to see?"

I thought back to when my dad and Cell were fighting and I realized that I had caught every facial expression, every movement made on the battlefield. "No…I could see it all." My fear gripped at me again and tears once again began to fall. "But that's because you and Cell weren't fighting at your full potential! I'm sure if you were moving as fast as you could I-"

My father cut me off and once again wiped the tears from my cheeks. "I don't know about Cell, Ro, but I was giving it my all. You thought I was holding back because you were comparing my energy to yours." He could see that I was trembling and he placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

Piccolo stepped back as the weight of the information Goku just shared hit him. "Wha-? Rowan, is this true?"

I looked up at my mentor and blinked the remaining tears out of my eyes. "Yes."

Vegeta stood in the background with his mouth agape and I couldn't tell what he was thinking at the moment. I opened my mouth to protest some more, but a snicker from above us caught our attention. "Any day now!" Cell smirked cockily down at us as if he knew he had already won.

I could feel my father's hands tighten on my shoulder as if he were telling me to look at him. My eyes stared into his and it was all I could do not to panic again. He smiled gently at me and cocked his head to the side. "So…what do you say, Ro? Go out there and win this one for me, okay? Then after that we can all go home."

His words stirred something within me, I couldn't describe the feeling, but it was as if someone imbued me with their courage and strength. I could feel a tingling sensation all over my body and I could feel my power surging freely through me. A smirk graced my once fearful face and I nodded at my father's proposition.

"I'll do it!"

My father smiled in approval and stood to his feet. Piccolo shook his head to himself then looked at me, I could practically feel the fear radiating off of him. Krillin reached behind him and scratched the back of his head in concern.

"Uh…Rowan?" he trailed off deciding it best to stay quiet as if not to shake my newfound courage and determination.

I could feel Vegeta's harsh glare pierce the back of my head and I could hear his labored breathing. I couldn't tell whether he was mad at the fact that Goku believed I was the one who could beat Cell or he was mad that Goku was letting me be so reckless. I shrugged it off and took off the cape Piccolo had given to me to shed some weight. With one last glance back at my father and my friends I flew off of the plateau and landed on the ground on which my father fought Cell. I glared up at him as he still floated in the air with an air of superiority about him, it sickened me. He in turn stared back at me, his facial expression was unreadable and it gave me a sense of unease. We stood like that for who knows how long, and I knew that it was too late to turn back now. I was going to fight Cell, and if I had any say in the matter he will not beat me. I will make my father proud and I will protect every living human on this planet. I was prepared to pounce when my father spoke up breaking my concentration.

"Hey Cell!" Cell glared at him from his spot in the air. I could tell he had had enough of my father's antics. "Catch!" He had thrown something small in Cell's direction and I could hear shouts of pure outrage and protest at Goku's actions. Cell looked at the object in his hand with a clueless expression and my father began to explain. "I have a feeling you're going to need that. It's a senzu bean. Eat it!"

My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach once more and all I could think was… _oh shit._


End file.
